Displaying advertising in an electronic program guide

ABSTRACT

An electronic device may insert an advertisement in a cell adjacent to other cells based on displayed programming information when the cells are stationary. An electronic device may insert a second advertisement when the cells move in a direction. The second advertisement may change size based on the direction and available cells.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/071,826 filed Mar. 16, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/939,947 filed Jul. 11, 2013, which issued asU.S. Pat. No. 9,294,823 on Mar. 22, 2016, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/580,048, filed Oct. 15, 2009, whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,490,134 on Jul. 16, 2013, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/929,506, filed Aug.14, 2001, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,634,789 on Dec. 15, 2009,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/283,921, filed Apr. 16, 2001 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/225,209 filed Aug. 14, 2000, all of which are incorporated byreference as if fully set forth.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to patent application Ser. No. 09/018,541,attorney docket no. 3063/15, titled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR NAVIGATINGTHROUGH CONTENT IN AN ORGANIZED AND CATEGORIZED FASHION, filed Feb. 4,1998, now abandoned, which is hereby incorporated by reference into thisapplication in its entirety.

This application is related to patent application Ser. No. 09/103,317,attorney docket no. DICE2-PT5577, titled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDINGUSER INTERFACE FOR ELECTRONIC PROGRAM GUIDE, filed Jun. 24, 1998, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,445,398, which is hereby incorporated by reference intothis application in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention disclosed herein relates generally to electronicprogram guides. More particularly, the present invention relates to asystem and method for displaying more effective banner and tune-in adsin an interactive program guide.

The number of video channels that offer various programming content,including the Internet and other on-line content, continues to increase.Channel surfing is no longer a viable solution for viewers to find aninteresting program by sequentially or randomly examining every channel.As a result, electronic program guides (EPG) that continuously listchannels and their content televised at a particular time will becomepractically indispensable for viewers.

Because of this necessity to use an electronic program guide, anopportunity is presented to advertise various products and services inthe EPG contemporaneously with program schedule data. Examples of theuse of advertising with programs guides are shown in InternationalApplication No. PCT/US97/23852 titled “EPG with Advertising Inserts,”and U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,073 titled “Method and System for DisplayingOther Information in a TV Program Guide,” both of which are herebyincorporated by reference into this application. PCT applicationPCT/US97/23852 discusses the insertion of an advertisement betweentelevision program listings in an EPG screen. The advertisement appearsas a single line in the program guide grid and scrolls or otherwisemoves along with and in identical fashion as the rest of the programlistings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,073 discusses an EPG having an area on theEPG display, separate from the program listings portion of the display,for advertising programs, products and services, where the advertisinginformation changes as the user moves the EPG cursor from cell to cellor after the passage of a predetermined number of seconds.

In both cases, users are shown advertisements on the same screen as theprogram guide listings. However, neither reference is particularlysensitive to user viewing behavior, especially in the use of EPGs.Placing an advertisement in a separate region of the EPG display fromthe program guide listings requires a user to turn his or her eyes awayfrom the program guide listings to view the advertisement. Since userspull up the EPG specifically to see the program guide listings, andusually only for a short period until a desired program to view islocated, they are unlikely to pay any particular attention to theadvertisement appearing on a separate portion of the display. Placingthe advertisement in the program listings portion of the display appearsto overcome this problem; however, users are likely to pay only briefattention to the ad as it scrolls past while searching through theprogram guide listings.

A need therefore continues to exist for an improved system and methodthat presents schedule data and advertising data to viewers in aneffective but unobtrusive and flexible manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and method for contemporaneouslydisplaying schedule data and advertising data in an interactive programguide in a fashion which increases the likelihood of receiving userattention to the advertisement, but which keeps the ad from becomingobtrusive or annoying to the user. The advertising data may be relatedto programs scheduled for broadcast and time slots at which programs arescheduled for broadcast. As such, the advertisement may serve as a“tune-in” ad for upcoming programming.

One embodiment of the invention provides a method of displayingadvertising in an electronic program guide on a display device, theelectronic program guide having at least a list of program cells eachcontaining a program choice available for viewing. The method includesscrolling the list of program cells on the display device in a firstdirection in accordance with a first scrolling scheme, displaying anadvertisement cell within the list of program cells, and moving theadvertisement cell in the first direction as the list of program cellsscrolls, the advertisement cell moving in accordance with a secondscheme different than the first scrolling scheme. The advertisementcell's scrolling scheme may be controlled from a remote location, suchas by transmitting parameters for the scrolling scheme from a head endof a cable system to subscribers or such other comparable centralstation in a satellite, microwave or other television distributionsystem.

In particular embodiments, the second scrolling scheme involvesscrolling the advertisement cell in concurrence with the scrolling ofthe program cell list during a first time portion in which the programcell list scrolls and keeping the advertisement cell stationary during asecond time portion in which the program cell list scrolls. Thescrolling may be in the vertical, horizontal or other direction on thedisplay device. The second time portion may be determined based upon afirst number of program cells which have moved past the advertisementcell while the advertisement cell is kept stationary, with the firstnumber of program cells being received from a remote location.

In addition to or as an alternative to this embodiment, the secondscheme may include scrolling the advertisement cell in concurrence withthe scrolling of the program cell list during a first time portion inwhich the program cell list scrolls and scrolling the advertisement cellduring a second time portion in which the program cell list isstationary. This may occur, for example, in a system in which ahighlight cell is displayed on the display device such that program andadvertisement cells may enter the highlight cell. The advertisement cellmay then be scrolled while the program cell list is kept stationary whenthe advertisement cell is entered in the highlight cell.

In some embodiments, the advertisement cell operates according todifferent scrolling schemes of these types for both vertical andhorizontal directions in the program guide grid.

The highlight cell may be a fixed, stationary highlight cell in whichthe entire program guide moves behind the cell and program choices andthe advertisement cell enter and leave the cell. Alternatively, thehighlight cell may be a movable cursor or similar graphical userinterface mechanism in which the program guide moves when the cursorreaches an extremity of the guide, such as the top or bottom thereof, toreveal more cells not previously visible on the display device. Thesenew program choices may enter the screen one cell at a time or one pageat a time; in either instance, the movement is generally referred toherein as scrolling.

In particular embodiments, the first direction is a vertical scrollingdirection on the display device, and the program cell list contains atop cell and a bottom cell displayed on the display device. Keeping theadvertisement cell stationary may then involve keeping the advertisementcell stationary when the advertisement cell reaches the top or bottomcell of the program cell list.

An advertisement is inserted into the advertisement cell. Theadvertisement may contain text, graphics, animation, or other multimediacomponents. In particular embodiments, the inserted advertisement isrelated to one or more program cells displayed in the program guide onthe display screen. The advertisement may be replaced in theadvertisement cell with another advertisement when the program choicesdisplayed in the program guide change due to scrolling of the programcells. Advertisements may alternatively be attached to a particularchannel. Also, the electronic program guide may contain program choicesavailable for viewing at scheduled times, as opposed, for example, toprogram choices available on demand. The program cells would be arrangedaccording to the scheduled times of the program choices, and theadvertisement inserted into the advertisement cell may be for a programchoice available for viewing at a time close in time to the scheduledtimes of program choices displayed on the display screen, such as anhour or two from the currently displayed time or later that evening.

The present invention further includes a method for providing aninteractive program guide including schedule data and advertising datafor display on a screen. According to the present invention, theschedule data is arranged into a grid containing rows and columnsaccording to a listing of channels and starting times of programs thatare broadcast via the channels. A plurality of cells is thus formedcontaining names of the programs. The advertising data is inserted intoa predetermined row of the grid for display on the screen. Using aremote control, a viewer scrolls the schedule data in the grid to viewthe listing of other channels and the starting times of other programsbroadcast via the other channels. While the viewer scrolls the scheduledata, the advertising data remains on the screen in the predeterminedrow of the grid.

The advertising data is arranged into cells such that one or moreadvertising cells are displayed in the predetermined row of the grid. Inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention, each advertisingcell contains an advertisement related to the starting times of theprograms displayed on the screen. In accordance with another aspect ofthe present invention, each advertising cell contains an advertisementrelated to the channels substantially adjacent the predetermined rowcontaining the advertising data displayed on the screen.

The present invention further includes improved user interface designsfor an interactive program guide. According to one embodiment, theimproved user interface contains a listing of program choices arrangedin at least one row or column on a display device, the listing beingnavigated by a user through scrolling in accordance with a firstscrolling scheme, and an advertisement cell contained within the programlisting column or row. The advertisement cell is configured to move onthe display device in accordance with a second scrolling scheme, thesecond scrolling scheme being different than the first scrolling scheme.In addition, a list of service identifiers, such as television channelnumbers or operators, is displayed in association with the programchoices in the program choice listings, and an advertisement identifier,such as the word “AD,” is contained in the list of service identifiersand displayed in association with the advertisement cell. Thus, thecontent of the advertisement cell is clearly identifying as an ad andnot necessarily a program choice such as may otherwise be displayed in acurrently scheduled time slot in the guide.

Another embodiment of a user interface for an interactive program guideincludes a set of first program cells arranged in at least one row orcolumn on a display device, the set being navigated by a user throughscrolling in accordance with a first scrolling scheme, and at least onesecond program cell arranged within the column or row, the secondprogram cell being configured to move on the display device inaccordance with a second scrolling scheme, the second scrolling schemebeing different than the first scrolling scheme. A stationary highlightcell may be positioned over a portion of the column or row of programcells, wherein scrolling of the column or row causes one of the cells toenter the highlight cell, the stationary highlight cell being operativeto allow user selection of a program cell entered in the highlight cell.The second program cell may be larger than the first program cells, andthe stationary highlight cell then expands to accommodate the secondprogram cell when the second program cell enters the highlight cell.

Another embodiment of a user interface for an interactive program guideincludes a plurality of program cells arranged in at least one row orcolumn on a display device and an advertisement cell contained withinthe program cell column or row. The program cells and the advertisementcell are configured to move on the display device in response to userinput.

During a first time period the program cells and advertisement cell movein concurrent fashion and during a second time period the program cellsor advertisement cell remain stationary on the display device duringmovement of the other of the advertisement cell or program cells,respectively.

Another embodiment consists of a user interface for an interactiveprogram guide with an advertisement in the guide whose movement ispartially controlled from a remote location such as a cable system headend. The guide includes a plurality of program cells arranged in atleast one row or column on a display device and an advertisement cellcontained within the program cell column or row. The program cells andthe advertisement cell are configured to move on the display device inresponse to user input. The movement of the advertisement cell iscontrolled in part based on parameters addressed from the remotelocation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated in the figures of the accompanyingdrawings which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting, in which likereference characters are intended to refer to like or correspondingparts, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a digital broadcast system in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates several representative digital video channels anddata channels representing signals which are generated, transmitted,received and processed by the digital broadcast system shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3-8 show exemplary screen displays of an interactive program guidescreen having an advertisement in the program listings in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an interactive program guide displayedon the television monitor of the digital broadcast system;

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide when theviewer activates the “up” function to scroll the scheduling data in grid300 in the direction of arrow U in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide when theviewer scrolls the scheduling data up or down to view the schedulinginformation for other video channels and the advertising data in ad row312 starts to move in the direction of the scrolling operation;

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide after theprevious advertising data scrolls off the screen and new advertisingdata appears;

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide when theadvertising data remains in the top schedule row until a predeterminednumber of rows is scrolled on the screen;

FIG. 14 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide when theviewer activates the “left” function to scroll the scheduling data ingrid 300 in the direction of arrow L in FIG. 9;

FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide when theviewer activates the “right” function to scroll the scheduling data ingrid 300 in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 9;

FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide after theviewer moves the scheduling data in grid 300 to the left, andadvertisement AD_1 and AD_2 are replaced by advertisement AD_8;

FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide after theviewer moves the scheduling data in grid 300 to the right, AD_1 isreplaced by AD_2, and AD_9 is inserted in place of AD_2;

FIG. 18 shows a block diagram of the interactive program guide afterAD_1 is in the lens 318, and more extensive text and/or imagespertaining to that advertisement (AD_1) appear on the screen;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart for navigating an interactive program guide withadvertisements according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 20 shows the data structure for a table for conveying ad data inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As a general overview, the present invention includes a system andmethod for providing advertisements in an interactive program guide. Theinteractive program guide is displayed on a monitor such as in the formof a grid that contains multiple rows and columns, thereby dividing thegrid into a number of cells. Each row of data in the interactive programguide represents programming data provided on a specific channel atsequential times, and the columns of information in the grid representdifferent programs available within a given time slot. According to thepresent invention, at least one of the rows does not contain the namesof programs starting at particular times, but instead containsadvertising data. In one aspect of the present invention, theadvertising data is related to a time slot in which the advertising datais displayed. In another aspect of the present invention, theadvertising data may also be related to substantially adjacent channelsdisplayed on the screen. In addition, the viewer may interact with theadvertisements appearing in the interactive program guide. These as wellas additional features of the advertisements in the interactive programguide according to the present invention are described in detail below.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying figures. In particular and asdescribed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,256,785, incorporated hereinby reference, FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a digital broadcast system100 which includes a head end 102 and a receiving end 104. The head end102 includes a head end system 106 coupled, in a representativeembodiment, to a microwave transmission dish 108. The receiving end 104includes microwave receiving antenna 110 coupled to a set-top box 112which, in turn, is coupled to television monitor 114. The transmissionin this embodiment is direct dish-to-dish microwave. Alternatively, thedigital broadcast may be transmitted from the head end system 102 to asatellite, where the broadcast is “bounced” off for retransmission tothe receiving end 104. Furthermore, a wire (cable) connection may beutilized as a digital broadcast medium. Those of skill in the art willappreciate that any conventional television distribution system may beused within the scope of the invention.

In operation, a digital video signal is generated at the head end system106 and is transmitted from the microwave transmission dish 108. Thedigital video signal is received by the microwave receiving antenna 110and is converted by the set top box 112 into a usable signal which isthen input into the television monitor 114 for viewing. The set top boxoperates an application for generating a navigator user interface forselecting channels for viewing, the navigator including an electronic orinteractive program guide. The operation of one such guide is describedin the above referenced commonly owned patent application Ser. No.09/103,317.

Reference is next made to FIG. 2 which illustrates several digital videochannels 120-130. As shown in FIG. 2, video channels 120-130 arerepresentative of MPEG channels 21-31, respectively. Digital videochannels 120-130 and data channel 131 are transmitted in tunablebandwidths represented by frequency bands 140 and 142. In this exemplaryembodiment, frequency band 140 contains MPEG channels 21-26 (digitalvideo channels 120-125), and frequency band 142 contains MPEG channels27-31 (digital video channels 126-130). Each of the digital videochannels can have data embedded in its stream of data as shown for thefrequency band 140 in FIG. 2. Alternatively, a separate data channel 131can be independent from each of the digital video channels 126-130 butwithin the same tunable bandwidth as in frequency band 142.Alternatively, the data can be put on a data dedicated frequency bandwhich receives only data and no digital video channels, such as data 132tunable within frequency band 143.

Frequency band 140 contains digital video channels 120-125 which includeboth video information and data. Frequency band 142 tunes digital videochannels 126-130 and data channel 131. Data channel 131 includes acontinuous stream of data that is then synchronized to the separatedigital video channels 126-130. Alternatively, in the situation offrequency band 143, one dedicated frequency band is provided to receiveonly data bits. Data is stored in memory and synchronized with videowhen tuned to a frequency band that has video.

The above-mentioned data, either embedded in the video channels orseparately provided therefrom, may include, among other things,scheduling data for use in an interactive or intelligent program guide(IPG). The guide is an interactive electronic program display whichlists programs by channel and time as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/103,317 incorporated herein by reference. Theviewer can navigate the guide with a remote control and can select ortag a program listed in the guide for immediate or later viewing.

Exemplary screen displays for the IPG user interface of the presentinvention are shown in FIGS. 3-8. As shown in FIG. 3, this embodiment ofan IPG consists of a grid 200 with program cells 202 having programchoices contained therein, arranged in a two-dimensional grid of time206 vs. channel 208. An advertisement cell or cells 204 are containedwithin the grid portion 200 of the IPG, with the word “AD” contained inthe channel list 208 displayed adjacent the advertisement cell 204. Theadvertisement cell 204 is larger than the program cells 202, having inthis case about the height of three program cells 202. The advertisementis a bitmapped graphic arranged either horizontally or vertically, andmay further contain animated graphics, such as with animated GIFs,sprite animation such as Flash or Shockwave, or other technology asallowed by the set top box and operating system.

FIG. 3 shows two advertisements in the advertisement cells. One ad isfor a television show “Spin City” airing at 8:30 p.m. that night. Notethat the grid is currently displaying shows airing at 7:00 p.m., 7:30p.m. and 8:00 p.m., so that this ad is for a show just to the future ofthe current time slot. The second ad is for a program called “CatDog”scheduled to air at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. This again relates the timeof the program featured in the ad to the currently displayed time 206 inthe grid 200.

An alternative advertisement which may appear in the advertisement cellis shown in FIG. 4. This ad 212 is a large sized ad, filling up over twocolumns of the grid row with a single ad. This ad 212 features a moviecalled “A Bug's Life,” scheduled to air at 8:00 p.m. on an upcomingSaturday. Here too, the ad relates in time to the time of the programcells in the IPG.

The IPG screen in FIG. 3 also features a pick list 210 of categoriessuch as favorites, movies, sports, children, etc. The operation of thispick list is described in the above referenced patent applications.

In accordance with one embodiment, the user enters the IPG screen withstationary highlight cell 214 (described in the above referencedapplication including Ser. No. 09/103,317) positioned over the lastprogram that the viewer had been watching. The ad 204 appears at the topof the grid. If the viewer presses the down arrow on his or her remotecontrol device, the grid lines move up off the screen, and the lines ofthe grid scroll up under the ad 204. The ad 204 sticks in place until anaddressable number of lines, sometimes referred to herein as a page,have scrolled beneath it, then unsticks and scrolls up off-screen withthe text. As the ad 204 scrolls off the top of the grid, another adscrolls up from the bottom, so that when the first ad has completelyscrolled off screen, the new ad completely occupies the bottom threelines of the scrolling grid. If the viewer continues to scroll, the adscrolls up into the highlight lens 214, which expands or “trombones”vertically and horizontally to accommodate the different size of the ad.This is shown in FIG. 5. If the viewer scrolls the ad out of the lens214, it sticks in place when it reaches the top of the screen,restarting the cycle.

If the viewer presses the up arrow, causing the grid lines to move downoff the screen, the ad 204 sticks in place until an addressable numberof lines, a page, have scrolled out from beneath it. The ad 204 thenunsticks and scrolls into the lens 214, which expands as explained aboveand as shown in FIG. 5. If the viewer scrolls down further, the ad 204reaches the bottom of the grid 200, as shown in FIG. 6, at which pointit may stick or may scroll off the bottom of the screen. A new adscrolls in from the top, and, when that entire ad is visible, it sticksin place, restarting the cycle. This provides that the ad 204 will beprominently visible for a set time, as determined by a set number ofprogram cells scrolled, while the viewer uses the IPG to find a desiredprogram to watch. At some point the ad scrolls off, making way for a newone.

The number of lines that scroll under the ad is addressable, so that itcan be changed during the day to support greater or lesser repetitionfrequency. For example, if there are many ads in the set top box, thenumber of lines might be set to 15 to allow more ads to be shown over ashorter time. If there are few ads in the box, the number of lines couldbe set to 25, or even to the total number of lines in the grid, whichwould mean the ad wouldn't scroll off at all. As such, the page size isdynamically configurable per each instance of the ad banner table, asdescribed further below. If a single 24-hour table is used, the pagesize is the same for the entire 24-hour period.

Further in accordance with embodiments of the invention, when an ad isnot in the lens 214, left/right scrolling of the grid has no effect onthe ad. The scrolling grid scrolls independently of the ad. Likewise,when an ad is in the lens, left/right scrolling has no effect on thegrid. When an ad is in the lens, left/right scrolling causes the ads toscroll at the rate of one complete ad per left/right arrow execution.Ads are not “slippery” and do not get truncated as program cells do. Ifan ad is in the lens and the viewer presses the right arrow, the ad tothe right of the ad in the lens scrolls into the lens, and a new adscrolls in from off-screen to replace it, as shown in FIG. 7. Dependingupon the size of an ad buffer, as described further below, the new admay be the ad that was originally in the lens, or it may be an entirelynew ad. If the system only supports two ads at a time, the same two adswill simply loop, as shown in FIG. 7, where the ad for Spin City movedin from the right as the new ad.

The number of ads that may be supported by a system simultaneouslydepends on set top box memory and bandwidth considerations. A minimum oftwo half-grid-wide ads or one full-grid-wide ad should be available atany time. Ads may be made available to the system in 30 minute blocksand for 60-second avails. The system also supports descriptive text,graphics or an HTML page about the ad to be sent and shown in adescription box on the IPG grid screen.

The advertisement cell and inserted advertisement has many interactivecapabilities as the program cells. For example, for ads for televisionprogramming, pressing an enter button on an ad in the highlight lensproduces an action corresponding to the behavior of program cells whenin the lens, as described in the above referenced related applications.This action includes tuning to the station of a currently airing show,marking a show for future viewing, or in the case of product-basedadvertising, taking the viewer to a virtual-channel or initiating ane-commerce purchase.

Advertisements may support the following additional functionality. Theymay be changed according to guide page, and may be replaced afterscrolling through a defined number of channels. When scrolling, new adsshould appear in a manner that leaves a full ad visible. Ads may changeaccording to priority, current time, and category, as selected from thepick list. Ads may be set not to change until a viewer moves to adifferent page, after which time the ad updates as scheduled. Multipleads may be associated with a page, and have a priority that determineswhen they will be displayed. The first time a page is viewed, thehighest priority ad is displayed. Upon the next viewing occasion, thesecond highest priority ad is displayed, and so on, up to, in oneembodiment, four priority levels. Default ads should appear when no adis scheduled at a particular time, and will be indicated as such byassigning them the lowest priority. These ads may be sent as part ofevery ad banner table, as described below and in the attached Appendix,so that they need not be stored at startup.

For a program guide which is list-based, FIG. 8 shows how two or moreads are arranged vertically. Vertically stacked ads are displayed whenthe viewer has displayed a category sort through use of the pick list210, as shown in FIG. 8 in which the program choices for the newscategory are displayed.

FIG. 9 shows in block diagram form an IPG as it may be representativelydisplayed on television monitor 114. The IPG contains scheduling datafor the video channels. The scheduling data is arranged along rows andcolumns forming grid 300. In one embodiment of the present invention,the top row 302 displays time slots representatively shown in half-hourperiods, and the left-most column 304 displays the names of videochannels. Thus, according to the IPG shown in FIG. 9, program_1displayed in cell 306 of grid 300 is scheduled for broadcast at 7:00p.m. on the CBS channel. FIG. 9 shows scheduling data displayed in therows of grid 300 for the following video channels between 7 p.m. and 8p.m. (top to bottom in grid 300): CBS, NBS, ABC, Disney, HBO, and Bravo.

As further illustrated in FIG. 9, the cells of grid 300 have variablesizes. The cell size depends on the length of the program for aparticular video channel. As an example, program_8 shown in cell 308 isat least 1 hour long, such that cell 308 occupies the entire row in grid300. As another example, program_5 broadcast on the NBC channel ishalf-hour long and consequently occupies cell 310 which is one-third ofthe entire row and is smaller than cell 308. Hence, the cells of grid300 containing program names and starting/ending at the columnarboundaries of time slots may have different sizes depending on theprogram length.

According to one aspect of the present invention, one row in grid 300 isoccupied by advertising data instead of scheduling data described above,as shown in FIG. 9. In one embodiment of the present invention, theadvertising data takes up row 312 of grid 300. Since the ad data doesnot start at a particular time slot as opposed to a particular program,the cells in ad row 312 are variably sized and do not have to start/endat the columnar boundaries of the time slots. For example, AD_1 occupiescell 314 which does not truncate at the time slot boundaries displayedin FIG. 9. Similarly, AD_2 occupying cell 316 is not restricted to thetime slot boundaries for schedule data.

Further shown in FIG. 9 is lens 318 responsive to a remote control (notshown) operated by the viewer. By activating directional buttons (left,right, up, down) on the remote control, the viewer moves the lens 318from one cell to another in grid 300. As described in detail in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/103,317, the lens may be stationary whilethe grid scrolls behind it. Alternatively, lens 318 may move or “slide”in a desired direction across the cell boundaries, or alternatively may“jump” to the next cell to accommodate the size of that cell when theviewer presses the directional button.

As also described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/103,317, thecurrent video program is presented to the viewer on the screen when theviewer presses a “Gimme” or enter button on the remote control, providedthe activated video program is currently in progress. Alternatively,another function activated in response to the viewer pressing the“Gimme” button on the remote control allows the viewer to tag futurevideo programs for later viewing or recording. Thoroughly explained inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/103,317, the description of thesefunctions will not be repeated herein in order not to detract from thepresent invention.

The IPG data, including scheduling and advertising data, presented ingrid 300 may be scrolled up, down, left or right in response to theviewer pressing directional buttons on the remote control. For example,when the viewer activates the “down” function to scroll the schedulingdata in grid 300 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 9, the programschedule data moves down. In accordance with the present invention, theadvertisement in ad row 312 does not move down immediately but ratherstays in the same position on the display, at least for a given numberof program cells scrolled. In contrast to the embodiments describedabove with reference to FIGS. 3-8 in which the advertisement data becametemporarily stationary at the top or bottom while a certain number ofprogram cells scrolled past, the advertisement row 312 in thisembodiment is shown to be temporarily stationary in the middle portionof the grid 300. The exact position of the advertisement during itsperiod of temporary non-movement is a matter of design choice.Scheduling data for new video channels appear at the top of the gridwhile the scheduling data for video channels HBO and Bravo scrolls offthe monitor screen.

Similarly, when the viewer activates the “up” function to scroll thescheduling data in grid 300 in the direction of arrow U in FIG. 9, grid300 acquires the appearance as shown in FIG. 10. Scheduling data for newvideo channels Cinemax and Pay-Per-View appears in rows 324 and 326,respectively, for time slots 7:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., whilethe scheduling data for video channels CBS and NBC scrolls off themonitor screen. FIG. 10 shows grid 300 after the viewer moved it up by 2rows such that the scheduling data is displayed in the rows for thefollowing channels (top to bottom in grid 300): ABC, Disney, HBO, Bravo,Cinemax, Pay-Per-View. The advertisements in ad row 312 have not movedduring this brief scrolling operation.

It is understood, of course, that the viewer may move the schedulingdata within grid 300 by any number of rows.

FIG. 10 shows that ad row 312 containing the advertising data remains inthe same position as before the scrolling operation of the schedulingdata. As the viewer activates the “down” or “up” function for moving thescheduling data within grid 300, the scheduling data for 19 adjacentvideo channels (Disney, HBO in FIG. 10) scrolls underneath ad row 312containing advertisements. The scheduling data re-appears below or abovead row 312 during the scrolling operation.

In one aspect of the present invention, the contents of ad row 312 arereplaced with different advertising material after a predeterminednumber of channels are scrolled off the screen in response to the viewerusing “up” and/or “down” buttons on the remote control device. As theviewer chooses to scroll the scheduling data up or down to view thescheduling information for other video channels, ad row 312 startsmoving in the direction of the scrolling operation. As shown in FIG. 11,ad row 312 “unsticks” and moves in the scrolling direction, along withother video channels displayed in the grid 300, after a predeterminednumber of video channels are scrolled off the screen. Thus, as theviewer scrolls the scheduling data up or down in grid 300, ad row 312starts moving as illustrated in FIG. 11.

After ad row 312 scrolls off the screen, another row of ad data 312appears at the top or bottom of the screen, depending on the scrollingdirection. Hence, if the previous ad data scrolls off the screen asshown in FIG. 11, new ad data in ad row 312 appears at the bottom of thescreen as shown in FIG. 12. If the viewer continues the scrollingoperation in the same direction, the new ad data in ad row 312 scrollsin that direction until it gets to a predetermined location on thescreen. In this embodiment of the present invention, the predeterminedlocation for the ad row is substantially in the center of the screen. Atthat time, the new advertising data in ad row 312 “sticks” in thepredetermined location despite the viewer's scrolling operation of thescheduling data in grid 300. Of course, the viewer may reverse thescrolling direction prior to the new advertising data in ad row 312reaching its destination. In this situation, ad row 312 does not “stick”anywhere, and instead, the new advertising data continues to scroll offthe screen in the new direction and may once again re-appear on thescreen from a different direction.

In another aspect of the present invention, the advertising data isrelated to substantially adjacent or nearby video channels displayed ingrid 300. For example, AD_1 and AD_2 displayed in cells 314 and 316,respectively, as shown in FIG. 9 may be related to any one or more ofthe displayed video channels: CBS, NBC, ABC, Disney, HBO, and Bravo.When the viewer scrolls the scheduling data up or down in grid 300, thenew ad appearing at the top or bottom of the screen is related to thenearby video channels as they appear in view. As a result, theadvertising data is replaced according to the contents and names of thevideo channels that scroll onto the screen and become adjacent ad row312 in grid 300.

Referring to FIG. 12, AD_3 in ad row 312 may be an advertisement for anadult program starting at 9:00 p.m. on the Playboy channel. Theadvertisement is related to the channel listing substantially adjacentor nearby ad row 312. In another example with reference to FIG. 12, AD_4in ad row 312 may be an advertisement for an on-line discount broker.This advertisement is contextually related to the CNBC channel forbroadcasting financial news and information, as known to those skilledin the art.

In another aspect of the present invention, if the viewer scrolls thescheduling data up or down causing the rows of grid 300 to move off thescreen and causing the advertisements to move from the center row, theads “stick” at the top and/or bottom of the screen depending on thescrolling direction. As shown in FIG. 13, the advertisements remain inthe top schedule row 328 until a predetermined number of rows isscrolled beneath the ads. Then, the advertisements in the top schedulerow 328 “unstick” and scroll off the screen. Alternatively, the ads inthe top schedule row 328 may “unstick” and are replaced by a newadvertisement based on the video channels that scroll into view and arein proximity of the top schedule row 328 in grid 300 as describedhereinabove.

As briefly mentioned, the viewer may scroll the scheduling data in grid300 to the left in the direction of arrow L or to the right in thedirection of arrow R shown in FIG. 3. For example, when the vieweractivates the “left” function to scroll the scheduling data in grid 300in the direction of arrow L in FIG. 9, grid 300 has the appearance asshown in FIG. 14. The scheduling data for the same video channels as inFIG. 9 appears in grid 300 for the new time slots 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m.and 6:30 p.m. FIG. 14 shows grid 300 after the viewer moved it to theleft by 3 columns.

Similarly, when the viewer activates the “right” function to scroll thescheduling data in grid 300 in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 9, grid300 has the appearance as shown in FIG. 15. The scheduling data for thesame video channels as in FIG. 9 appears in grid 300 for time slots 7:30p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. FIG. 15 shows grid 300 after the viewermoved it right by 1 column.

FIGS. 14 and 15 further show that the advertising data “sticks” in adrow 312 remains in the same position as before the left scrolling orright scrolling operation of the scheduling data. That is, as the vieweractivates the “left scroll” or “right scroll” function for moving thescheduling data within grid 300, the advertisements do not change. Asexplained above, this occurs when the advertisement data is notpositioned in the lens 318 (the lens not being specifically shown inFIGS. 14 and 15). Left/right scrolling has no effect on the ads, and thescheduling data in grid 300 scrolls independently of the ads.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the advertisements in adrow 312 are replaced during the left/right scrolling operation afterbrowsing through a predetermined number of time slots for the schedulingdata. A new ad scrolls into place from the scrolling direction on thescreen at a representative rate of one complete advertisement perleft/right arrow button press.

In still another aspect of the present invention, the replacement of adsin ad row 312 during the left/right scrolling operation is directlyrelated to and depends on time slots displayed in grid 300. For example,AD_1 located in cell 314 shown in FIG. 9 may be an advertisement for aprogram that starts on the NBC channel at 8:00 p.m. If the viewer movesthe scheduling data in grid 300 to the left, AD_1 and AD_2 located in adrow 312 may be replaced by AD_8 as shown in FIG. 16. AD_8 contains anadvertisement for a program on the HBO channel that starts at 7:30 p.m.

Similarly, if the viewer moves the scheduling data in grid 300 to theright, AD_1 located in cell 314 may be replaced by AD_2 located in cell316, and AD_9 is inserted in place of AD_2 as shown in FIG. 17. As anexample, AD_9 may contain an advertisement for a program on the Bravochannel that starts at 10:30 p.m.

As described above, the viewer may move lens 318 from one cell toanother over the entire grid, or may move the grid around while the lensstays stationary on the display and cells enter and leave it, in eithercase thereby selecting different cells. Using lens 318, the viewer mayhighlight the ad cell. In this situation, lens 318 “trombones” bothvertically and horizontally in order to properly display the ad becausethe ad will generally not be the precise width of the grid columnssurrounding it This “tromboning” action is functionally similar to the“tromboning” that takes place with program cells in the program guide;that is, lens 318 changes size dynamically as the ad scrolls into it.With ad cell scrolling, lens 318 “trombones” vertically and/orhorizontally to accommodate the difference in height and/or widthbetween ad cells and program cells.

In another aspect of the present invention, when the viewer selects thead cell using lens 318 as described above, additional details of the admay appear on the screen for a predetermined period of time. Forexample, when AD_1 in ad row 312 is in lens 318, more extensive textand/or images pertaining to that advertisement appear on the bottom halfof the screen as shown in FIG. 18. After the expiration of thepredetermined time period, AD_1 returns to its original condensedversion to occupy cell 314.

The viewer may press a “Gimme” button on the remote control while the adis in lens 318. The following operations may take place depending on thecontents of the ad which was activated by the viewer. If the ad is for acurrently airing program, or a program airing within a predeterminedtime period, pressing the “Gimme” button while the ad is in the lenstakes the viewer to the channel showing the program. If the ad is for aprogram that is airing at some time in the future, pressing the “Gimme”button initiates a tag sequence at an appropriate point for laterviewing. If the ad is for a Pay-Per-View event, pressing the “Gimme”button begins a buy sequence at an appropriate point to purchase therequested event. If the ad is for another product or service, pressingthe “Gimme” button takes the viewer to the information page for thatservice. Alternatively, a store-and-forward or other type of purchasemay be initiated for the advertised product or service upon pressing ofthe “Gimme” button.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart for displaying on a screen the interactiveprogram guide with advertisements according to the present invention. Inparticular, FIG. 19 shows a process by which ads may be selected forinsertion into the advertisement cell based upon navigational movementin the IPG. In block 1400, the viewer activates a particular function inthe interactive program guide via the remote control device. In block1402, a decision is made whether the viewer scrolled schedule data up ordown in grid 300 by a predetermined number of channels. If so, a new adis provided on the screen in block 1404. Otherwise, in block 1406, adecision is made whether the viewer scrolled the schedule data todisplay another time slot in grid 300. If so, a new ad related to thenew time slot in grid 300 is inserted in ad row 312 in block 1408.

As further shown in FIG. 19, in block 1410 it is determined whether theviewer scrolled the schedule data to display another channel listing. Ifso, in block 1412 a new ad related to the new channel listing in grid300 is provided in ad row 312. Otherwise, in block 1414 a decision ismade whether the viewer placed lens 318 over the ad in row 312. If thisis the case, additional information about the ad in the lens isdisplayed on the screen in block 1416. In block 1418, another decisionis made whether the viewer selected an ad using the “Gimme” button. Ifso, in block 1420 various functions are performed depending on thecontents of the ad as described above.

In the preferred embodiment, the top row displays time slotsrepresentatively shown in half-hour periods, and the left-most column onthe screen displays the names of video channels. Those skilled in theart will recognize that the present invention is not limited to suchimplementation. Among other things, time slots in grid 300 may be of anyduration, and the position of time slots and channel listing on thescreen may be arranged differently. For example, time slots may occupythe bottom row, and the right-most column on the screen may be allocatedto the channel listing.

Further in the preferred embodiment, the advertisements are displayed insubstantially the center row of grid 300. Those skilled in the art,however, will recognize from the disclosure herein that the presentinvention is not limited thereto. Any row of grid 300 may be assigned tothe ads.

Still further according to the present invention, one or several ads mayappear in one row. Furthermore, the advertisements may occupy more thanone row in grid 300.

Still further in the preferred embodiment, more extensive text and/orimages pertaining to that advertisement appear on the bottom of thescreen if the ad is highlighted by the lens 318. Those skilled in theart will recognize from this disclosure that additional text and/orimages may occupy any portion of the screen, including any top portion.

FIG. 20 shows a data structure for storing data transmitted from a headend or other central station to subscriber stations having displaydevices. The data structure specifies the format of an ad table. Thetable defines the time(s) that an ad is ready for display in the programguide, the priority in the rotation sequence, the duration of itsdisplay for a given rotation, and its location within the guide. Thetable is sent to subscriber devices at regular intervals, such as in arolling 12-hour present and following format. The definitions for theentries in the ad table in FIG. 20 are contained in the Appendix to thisspecification, which fully forms part of this application.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in connectionwith preferred embodiments, many variations and modifications as will beevident to those skilled in this art may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention, and the invention is thus not tobe limited to the precise details of methodology or construction setforth above as such variations and modification are intended to beincluded within the scope of the invention.

APPENDIX

The Appendix, which forms part of the present application, contains thedefinitions for the fields in the advertisement delivery table shown inFIG. 20. Some of the terminology, including names of levels and zones,is best understood with reference to prior applications incorporatedherein by reference, such as Ser. No. 09/018,541.

1.-14. (canceled)
 15. An electronic device comprising: a display device;and a processor, communicatively coupled to the display device, theprocessor configured: to receive a parameter related to a motion ofcells in an electronic guide; to cause the display device to display aplurality of cells with programming information in the electronic guide,wherein the plurality of cells have variable sizes; to insert a firstadvertisement in a cell adjacent to one of the plurality of cells basedon displayed programming information of the cell when the plurality ofcells are stationary; and to insert a second advertisement when theplurality of cells move, based on the parameter, in a direction, whereinthe second advertisement changes size based on the direction andavailable cells of the plurality of cells.
 16. The electronic device ofclaim 15, wherein a cell of the plurality of cells includes a programavailable on demand.
 17. The electronic device of claim 15 furthercomprising: the processor configured to receive a selection of thesecond advertisement; and the processor configured to mark a programchoice associated with the second advertisement for future viewing. 18.The electronic device of claim 15 further comprising: the processorconfigured to insert a third advertisement related to content of theplurality of cells.
 19. The electronic device of claim 15 furthercomprising: the processor configured to receive a selection of thesecond advertisement, wherein the selection initiates an e-commercepurchase of a product or service related to the second advertisement.20. A method performed by an electronic device, the method comprising:receiving, by the electronic device, a parameter related to a motion ofcells in an electronic guide; displaying, by a display device of theelectronic device, a plurality of cells with programming information inthe electronic guide, wherein the plurality of cells have variablesizes; inserting, by the electronic device, a first advertisement in acell adjacent to one of the plurality of cells based on displayedprogramming information of the cell when the plurality of cells arestationary; and inserting, by the electronic device, a secondadvertisement when the plurality of cells move, based on the parameter,in a direction, wherein the second advertisement changes size based onthe direction and available cells of the plurality of cells.
 21. Themethod of claim 20, wherein a cell of the plurality of cells includes aprogram available on demand.
 22. The method of claim 20 furthercomprising: receiving, by the electronic device, a selection of thesecond advertisement; and marking, by the electronic device, a programchoice associated with the second advertisement for future viewing. 23.The method of claim 20 further comprising: inserting, by the electronicdevice, a third advertisement related to content of the plurality ofcells.
 24. The method of claim 20 further comprising: receiving, by theelectronic device, a selection of the second advertisement, wherein theselection initiates an e-commerce purchase of a product or servicerelated to the second advertisement.